A Presentation Design Guide for Rookies
This stunning presentation design guide will help rouse your audience to the edge of their seats. Check out these 10 slide design tips and take your presentation from Blah to Bam! There’s music so turn it up!
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#1 Simplicity is Key to Presentation Design
Weed out the unnecessary. Include only what’s critical. And say it with a clear purpose. Be sure to repeat this to yourself as you develop your presentation design. This applies to your visuals, the words you choose and the flow of your story.
#2 Don’t Fear the Storyboard
What at first may seem like adding extra work to designing your presentation will actually save you hours, dollars, and help you deliver a much more compelling story. Try a storyboard once and I bet you’ll be a convert.
#3 Lighten Your Slide Design Load
Free yourself of the urge to put all your information on each slide. Whittle, whittle, whittle your verbiage down as you review your presentation. It’s not just good for your slide design, but it’s good practice for you to distill your story down to the essentials.
#4 Fonts Are Fun
Your choice of font can help guide the mood of your presentation. This is a great place to get creative with fonts like Delicious, Lobster and Irish Growler (yes, those are actual font names). And it’s a subtle clue to your audience that you have something special for them.
#5 Color Makes the Mood
Color is a fundamental component of presentation design and probably the easiest thing to “borrow” from the designs of others. A fun approach is to select your stock photos and then use the “color picker” to match fonts and backgrounds to photos.
#6 Big, Bold Images
The days of clip art and bullets are over! Big, captivating images are the thing now. An interesting, relevant image and just a few words are the way to go for live presentations. Allow yourself more leeway if your presentation is viewed online in a “self-serve” manner.
#7 Transition Time Means You’re Almost Done!
Is there anything more fun then adding transitions to your presentation design? They’re not only flashy, but also indicate you’re almost done designing your presentation. The end is near! Restraint and consistency are the key here.
#8 Outside Resources For Killer Slide Designs
Before you get started designing your presentation it often helps to take a peek at how others are breaking fresh design ground. It doesn’t have to be presentations. Check out places like Tumblr, Pinterest and Flickr to find unique images and layouts.
#9 What Chu Got? The Power of Collaboration
Checking out the presentations designs on Note & Point or SlideShare can often be inspiring. But don’t forget about those around you who likely have troves of images and slides you can draw from. And have them review your presentation while you’re at it.
#10 Bundling and Layering in Presentation Design
Particularly for animations, bundling your design elements and text together into groups can be effective. And just like the peas and mashed potatoes on your plate…it’s ok if they touch or overlap. It’s not icky. Think in layers. It all gets mixed together in your stomach anyway.
Be sure to check out our other helpful presentation guides:
Presentation Design
Presentation Skills
Barbara Fowler
September 7, 2012 @ 2:59 am
Good tips. I would eliminate the music. It wasn’t needed.
John Rode
September 7, 2012 @ 9:14 am
Thanks Barbara,
The music was a debate we had…kind of an experiment. Good feedback though, thanks.
- John
Sue Godinet
September 10, 2012 @ 4:00 pm
Don’t give up on the music. Its more about choices. Give us a choice – perhaps more than one tune and maybe the choice not to have music if we don’t want it. Listening to this at breakfast…too bouncy!
John Rode
September 10, 2012 @ 4:37 pm
Ha ha, thanks Sue. We have more guides coming out so we’ll continue to experiment. Nobody needs “bouncy” at breakfast though!
- John
Attila Kristo
September 10, 2012 @ 6:20 pm
Great tips. Missed the use of embedded videos though :’(
I think it’s a great thing to make use of in presentations. Be it recorded or animation content.
John Rode
September 11, 2012 @ 8:44 am
Hi Attila,
We’re covering embedded video in the “Intermediate” presentation design guide. We expect to launch that in the next few weeks. But definitely let me know any other ideas!
- John
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September 19, 2012 @ 9:00 am
[...] in the days leading up to your presentation. It’s a handy companion to the recently released Presentation Design Guide. So, check out the guidebook below, and then be sure to check out the Top 10 Presentation Disasters [...]
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September 26, 2012 @ 8:01 am
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Dave
September 27, 2012 @ 4:04 pm
Agree in principle. The slides themselves were awful. The angular theme was dark, distracting, and depressing. Also dated.
John Rode
September 28, 2012 @ 9:13 am
Dave,
Interesting, albeit somewhat raw perspective. What is your recommendation for a better direction to take with a guidebook presentation such as this?
- John
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September 28, 2012 @ 9:16 am
[...] Click here for video. [...]
PowerPoint Designer
September 28, 2012 @ 11:33 pm
Good post. the scientist at CERN should’ve read this post, or they wouldn’t have used comic sans for the presentation of one of the greatest scientific discovery this century lol.
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October 11, 2012 @ 9:02 am
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December 23, 2012 @ 9:31 pm
[...] A Presentation Design Guide for Rookies [...]
Adam
February 8, 2013 @ 11:09 am
These are some great tips. When it comes transitions I usually avoid them unless they are absolutely necessary (usually when my clients demand them). If anyone is looking for additional tips and resources on how to create KILLER slides check out the following link:
http://presentationpanda.com/book/
Email Console
March 20, 2013 @ 3:40 pm
It’s hard to find well-informed people in this particular topic, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks
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